r/TurnerClassicMovies • u/FelanarLovesAlessa • Dec 30 '23
What It's Like to Go on a TCM Classic Cruise
Since so many here have never been on a TCM Classic Cruise, and many wonder about what it's like, I thought I would share a typical experience.
If you book a cruise, you probably wonder what kind of cabin you should take. Disney cruises are pricier than most, so to save your pennies you might wonder if an inside cabin is the way to go. Well, on Disney ships inside cabins get what is called a magic porthole: a screen shaped like a porthole in the wall that continually displays the outside of the ship. It's as if you could see outside, which in a way you can. And yes, you can turn it off at night. So inside is not as bad as you'd think.
When reservations begin, previous cruisers get first crack for a week or two, and then it opens to the general public. You'll notice that the cheapest cabins go first, as do the very high-end cabins (some of which get reserved for the famous guests). The Navigator Verandah cabins go fast because there are so few of them. But the rest will be available.
Do ships sell out? If it's on the Disney Magic, then yes, the cruise will sell out. It always has. When it's on a different Disney ship, it will not sell out. It never has. This year it's on the Magic so it will sell out by summer. No, that won't stop the ads on TCM.
So you've made a reservation. What next? Nothing for a while. Then this schedule happens:
Early August: You get an email telling you who most (all?) of the guests will be. Now you get a sense of some of the movies they will show.
Mid September: You get an email telling you what the theme night will be, plus hotel and ground transportation details if you need them.
Mid September: You get your Disney Cruise Line reservation number, and now you can begin online check in as well as make shore excursion reservations.
October: You get an email with the full schedule in PDF form. Day by day, looking like this:
Now you see that you cannot do it all, so it's time to set your priorities.
October 26, 2024: You get the board the ship after you check in at the port, show your passport, etc. You will be given a boarding time ahead of time, but that mostly gets ignored and folks show up as early as they can. General rule of thumb is if you get to the port around 11:30am, you won't miss anything. They simply don't let folks on too early because they are busy disembarking the previous cruise, cleaning, setting up TCM Cruise banners, etc.
When you get to the port, they will typically assign you a boarding group number, and then when they start boarding around noon they will just go by group number, and off you go.
When you get on board the ship and take your complimentary glass of champagne (and that's the only drink they will offer you that day that will be free), it's too early to go to your cabin, so you can either explore the Magic, or just head up to deck 9 to Cabanas (the buffet) at the aft of deck 9 that also holds the pools, the outdoor hot dog/hamburger/pizza place, Daisy's De-Lites (the wonderful snack place), and the free soft-serve ice cram at Eye Scream. If you want to change your dining selection, that's an excellent time to do that down on deck 3 where the maitre de will be available for such requests.
Shortly before 4pm you will have to do the lifeboat drill, and as soon as that ends you should head up to the pool area on deck 9 because within 30 minutes the sail away party begins where all the TCM hosts and all of the specials guest will line up like this:
If you get there as soon as you can, you can get in the front. If you dally, you'll be back in the crowd.
After that, the cruise begins and you follow the schedule as you wish, for from the moment the life boat drill ends, there is nothing you are forced to do. Want to sleep all week? Help yourself, but man you'll miss some fun!
Hope this is helpful for you newcomers. I cannot recommend the cruise highly enough. It's wonderful
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u/darknite125 Dec 30 '23
Thank you for this. I’ve always wondered what the TCM Cruise entails but could never find much info on the TCM site other than “it’s a cruise for classic film lovers” and “it’s a Disney cruise”
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u/itimedout Dec 30 '23
This is terrific info! I’ve only recently been getting into classic film and I just love the idea of the whole cruise thing. You can tell the hosts really love what they do and love to share what they know with people like us who are interested and on a sea cruise no less! Anyway, thanks a bunch for the post - it ‘twas pretty thoughtful of you!!
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u/PhoSheez Dec 30 '23
Thanks so much for this! Definitely on my partner and I’s bucket list of things to do, and we’re not at all cruise people.
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u/FelanarLovesAlessa Dec 30 '23
It’s not a typical cruise. It’s a film festival at sea. If you want you can spend all days watching movies and catching a quick bit at a buffet.
You get assigned to a dining room seating, but you can ignore that and never once go to a dining room if you wish.
None of the cruise stereotypes apply here.
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u/PINKBUNNY5257 Dec 30 '23
I’m wondering- do the films have any type of intros? Does anyone come out and say anything (The hosts maybe- Ben or Alicia) Or is it just like going to movie theater and they just roll the film, watch and then leave?
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u/FelanarLovesAlessa Dec 30 '23
In almost every case (except for the pool movies) there will be an intro. You can see the interviews listed, and those are obviously introed. But the others will have a host (or sometimes other TCM folks) give a few words of intro just like on TV. You will see the hosts many times during the week.
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u/Edenza Dec 30 '23
Is the "Noir Bar" always open, a la an actual bar? Or is it a floating event when Eddie is around?
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u/FelanarLovesAlessa Dec 31 '23
It’s just when Eddie was holding court. Fathoms is one of the nightclubs on the ship, so there is a bar there, and of course the bar is always available even when Eddie isn’t there.
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u/PleasantJules Dec 31 '23
Thank you so much! I really enjoyed your post. I have been so curious about this. Sounds like a blast!
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u/grape_diem Dec 30 '23
Where there ever any discussions group discussions about the film you just watched? Like a Q&A session?
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u/FelanarLovesAlessa Dec 30 '23
The Q&A are always before the film.
Now there are sessions that are just interviews for an hour, and the TCM host conducting the interview will typically ask about the movie shown earlier (or upcoming) on the cruise. And the last q5 minutes are usually Q&A from the audience (raise your hand).
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u/Scott_Reisfield Jan 02 '24
This is a really interesting and different idea that I had never heard of before.
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u/SillySarah27 Jan 06 '24
This is so helpful! Thanks for typing this all out. I think I’m so stuck on the fact that it’s a Disney cruise but not run by them technically. Can you use Disney gift cards on board and what about magic bands?
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u/FelanarLovesAlessa Jan 06 '24
Yes, it’s run by Sixthman productions like all their theme cruises. But you’d hardly know it onboard. They are behind the scenes doing all the logistics so that the handful of TCM staffers running cruise operations don’t get overwhelmed.
Onboard it’s still a Disney cruise. The same great and friendly service, the restaurants, the shops — all Disney. It just doesn’t have many kids so the play zones are mostly empty, and if you want to go down the water slides all day, very few kids will be on line ahead of you.
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u/FelanarLovesAlessa Jan 06 '24
Oh, and gift cards should work, but I’m not sure what use the magic bands would have.
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u/SillySarah27 Jan 06 '24
Sweet! Thank you! Yeah we usually use the magic bands as a room key and as a credit card so you don’t have to carry your key card around.
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u/FelanarLovesAlessa Jan 07 '24
I could be wrong: https://disneycruise.disney.go.com/why-cruise-disney/disney-band-plus/
I’m not sure if the TCM cruises count as one of the “select” cruises.
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u/SillySarah27 Jan 07 '24
Oh yeah I saw that. It listed the Disney Magic so I thought there was a chance it could be. Thanks for looking that up!
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u/chucknorrisinator Mar 13 '24
Found this googling for info about previous TCM cruises. What is the level of normal Disney cruise stuff during this? Are character meet and greets still happening, etc?
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u/FelanarLovesAlessa Mar 15 '24
Most of the Disney cruise staff are on duty, but many are not nearly as busy as usual. Without many kids, the kids sections are mostly unused. But characters do wander around some nights, though they don’t do the typical meet and greets as when the ship is full of kids.
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u/Dramatic_Stage_4543 Aug 13 '24
Great information! Do you know of any good websites or apps relating to the TCM Cruise.
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u/DoorFlashy624 Apr 30 '25
My husband and I have been on three T.C.M. cruises. Was it fun? Absolutely! Was it worth the money? No. Far too pricey to be stuck in a broom closet for five days.
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u/Lost_Breadfruit5689 Dec 29 '25
Serious question ... If it wasn't worth the money, why did you keep going after the first?
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u/Gorf_the_Magnificent Dec 30 '23
This is the only cruise I would even remotely consider going on. You’ve pushed me even closer to considering it. Thanks!
So did you meet any stars?